Drag Destroys Prickly Pear Cactus

2003 - Volume #27, Issue #2, Page #29

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Like a lot of rural people in certain areas of the country, Gary Johnson has been fighting prickly pear cactus for years.
    Prickly pear is a problem on rangeland and pasture across the Southwest, north across the Plains, and up the West Coast. It's even been found on marginal soils in the Midwest.
    "We tried mowing it, shredding it, and killing it with chemicals, but nothing seemed to work," he says.
    Johnson, who is a professional engineer, devised a heavy drag that breaks and bruises the cactus, destroying its roots. "The broken cactus dries up so the roots starve and die," he says. "I've used it to completely clear 15 acres. You could walk barefoot across it now, but two years ago, the cactus was so thick a snake couldn't crawl through it."
    Johnson recently filed for a patent on his device and is making them for sale. "It's pretty simple. It has no moving parts. But it took awhile before I figured out the right weight and size to make the drag work," he says.
    It consists of a 2 by 8-ft. piece of 1/4-in. plate steel and an 8-ft. length of railroad rail. There's an 8-ft. long piece of 1 by 6-in. flat iron on top of it for ballast, along with some pieces of 1/4-in. steel stock and re-bar. A tow chain slips over a ball or pintle hook.
    "The secret to the design is getting the weight positioned to crush the cactus while not digging into the soil or flipping over," he says. "It doesn't take much to pull it. You just pull the drag over the cactus at a walking speed.
    "It doesn't always work with just one pass. In fact, you may have to hit it several times, depending on how tall the cactus is," he says. "Even though it crushes cactus, the drag doesn't harm grasses and other native plants."
    While Johnson has just been using his crusher on his own land, he sold one to a friend who is now operating a custom cactus crushing business. "I'm making crushers to sell, but with each one I sell, the buyer gets a set of plans so he can build his own," Johnson says. He also sells the plans alone. Price for a crusher is $500. Plans are available.
    Johnson is currently working on an additional cactus-crushing device that will work in fence rows.
    Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Expert Technical Services, Gary Johnson, McGregor, Texas 76657

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Drag Destroys Prickly Pear Cactus TILLAGE EUIPMENT Miscellaneous 27-2-29 Like a lot of rural people in certain areas of the country, Gary Johnson has been fighting prickly pear cactus for years. Prickly pear is a problem on rangeland and pasture across the Southwest, north across the Plains, and up the West Coast. It's even been found on marginal soils in the Midwest. "We tried mowing it, shredding it, and killing it with chemicals, but nothing seemed to work," he says. Johnson, who is a professional engineer, devised a heavy drag that breaks and bruises the cactus, destroying its roots. "The broken cactus dries up so the roots starve and die," he says. "I've used it to completely clear 15 acres. You could walk barefoot across it now, but two years ago, the cactus was so thick a snake couldn't crawl through it." Johnson recently filed for a patent on his device and is making them for sale. "It's pretty simple. It has no moving parts. But it took awhile before I figured out the right weight and size to make the drag work," he says. It consists of a 2 by 8-ft. piece of 1/4-in. plate steel and an 8-ft. length of railroad rail. There's an 8-ft. long piece of 1 by 6-in. flat iron on top of it for ballast, along with some pieces of 1/4-in. steel stock and re-bar. A tow chain slips over a ball or pintle hook. "The secret to the design is getting the weight positioned to crush the cactus while not digging into the soil or flipping over," he says. "It doesn't take much to pull it. You just pull the drag over the cactus at a walking speed. "It doesn't always work with just one pass. In fact, you may have to hit it several times, depending on how tall the cactus is," he says. "Even though it crushes cactus, the drag doesn't harm grasses and other native plants." While Johnson has just been using his crusher on his own land, he sold one to a friend who is now operating a custom cactus crushing business. "I'm making crushers to sell, but with each one I sell, the buyer gets a set of plans so he can build his own," Johnson says. He also sells the plans alone. Price for a crusher is $500. Plans are available. Johnson is currently working on an additional cactus-crushing device that will work in fence rows. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Expert Technical Services, Gary Johnson, 5886 New Windsor Parkway, McGregor, Texas 76657 (ph 254 940-9629; E-mail: gwj5886@aol. com; Website: http://home.swbell.net/coem).

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